Road to Gibraltar
by grovyrosegirl
Summary: After the events of Zero Hour, the newly recalled Overwatch is on the road back to Watchpoint Gibraltar. During a stop, Mei and Lena share a conversation about their new team.


The night was cool around Mei-Ling Zhou. It was the cold of an early spring somewhere out in Spain, still frigid enough to want a second layer, but warm enough that you could no longer see your breath in the air. Under the tree she sat under, Mei could look up and see tiny buds beginning to grow on the branches. She pulled up the hood of her armored parka, letting the soft faux fur edges block the chilly breeze that came by every so often.

A distance away, Winston, Tracer, and the other members of the newly recalled Overwatch were gathered around the brightly lit hover-RV, which had been pulled over onto the side of the road next to a wide open plain. The pair of Reinhardt and Brigitte, new but friendly faces to Mei, were at the front of the vehicle, still hard at work on repairing the electric motor that broke a few hours earlier. Brigitte appeared to be working with some kind of wrench, while Reinhardt held a flashlight on it so she could see.

Another new face, Genji Shimada, sat at the edge of the RV's side door frame, his legs crossed in a meditation position. He seemed to be happily chatting with a slightly more familiar face, Dr. Angela Ziegler, who sat next to him. She'd placed the halo-like headpiece of her armor onto her lap, and let her staff lean against the side of the RV. As Mei watched them, she couldn't help but take a longer look at Dr. Ziegler, who hadn't seemed to age a day since the last time Mei saw her.

Even with that, she looked different. More tired, firmer. A stark difference from the young, bright-eyed doctor she'd met all those years ago at the Overwatch Scientific Research Conference.

Before her thoughts could drift into somber territory at the reminder of the passage of nine years, Mei let her eyes move to the RV's roof. Winston was perched on top, his eyes scanning the sky for Echo, who was sent to scout in order to make sure they weren't being followed. Tracer sat near him, her chin was in her hand as her head was starting to droop. Mei had only known Tracer for a short time, yet it was enough to have gotten used to the young woman's endless positive energy. To see her tired and nodding off was a rare sight.

Despite their victory in Paris, the group was forced to flee after being grimly informed by the young Parisian officer that the International Police were on their way, looking to arrest them all. Their heroic act was, unfortunately, also a violation of the Petras Act in the eyes of her commanding officers. In their rush to leave the city, with directions to a back road route courtesy of the omnic reporter, everyone was forced to squeeze into the back of Reinhardt's already cramped RV.

The hours following their escape were comprised of awkward shuffling of spots in desperate attempts to fit everyone, which was followed by an agonizing period of hours where Mei made her own desperate attempts at small talk. When each attempt fell short, Tracer would (mercifully) pick up the slack and get everyone cheerfully reminiscing about the glory days.

Glory days, something that she wasn't a part of. It was strange, to think that they'd all worked for the same organization, and yet only two of the seven faces huddled in that RV would have any recollection of interacting with her before Antarctica.

Mei shook her head, trying to clear her head of that lingering reminder once more. She looked away from the yellow, inviting lights of the RV's interior and focused on her journal, which rested on her legs. Snowball hovered near her, its flashlight function allowing her to see the scribbled notes she was taking before her mind wandered.

The notes covered all the materials she would need when they reached Watchpoint Gibraltar. She would need to start work on a new cryo-backpack as soon as possible. She had a few spheres of cryogenic fluid ammo saved for her blaster in case of an emergency, though they wouldn't last long and she wouldn't be able to refill without the main tank.

Mei tapped the eraser of her pencil on her lips. Winston could easily provide her with the parts to make the main frame and container of the backpack, but the hardest part would be the new batch of the cryogenic fluid. Hopefully, the lab at the Watchpoint still had the chemicals she needed.

She paused, then wrote down one final note.

_Note to Me(i): Try NOT to freeze your arm this time!_

Next to the note, she doodled a sketch of her face with a scolding, pouty expression.

With that, Mei closed her journal. Snowball flicked off the flashlight before releasing a series of happy, auto-tuned sounds. Snowball's screen "eyes" made a cheerful expression as it snuggled its way under Mei's free arm.

"M-e-e-e-i-i-i!" Snowball chimed.

Mei giggled and lifted the drone closer to her face, letting Snowball nuzzle against the side of her cheek.

When Snowball was satisfied with the small moment of affection, the little drone hovered away, flying in the direction of the RV. Mei followed Snowball with her eyes, causing her to get another glimpse of Tracer and Winston on the roof.

Winston still had his gaze focused on the sky, but Tracer was looking more awake than moments earlier, likely having been nudged awake by Winston. She spotted Mei looking and returned the look with a friendly wave. Mei smiled and waved back. Tracer seemed to have taken the gesture as an invitation for a chat, as she made a swift leap off the roof before blinking her way over to Mei.

"Ironic that I'm asking you of all people," Tracer said, her appearance in front of Mei felt as if it were out of thin air, save for the blue stream of light that followed her, "but aren't you cold, love?"

"I'm okay," said Mei, tucking her journal under her arm. "I needed some air."

Tracer nodded, "Best get it while you can. Brigitte's almost got the motor fixed, so we'll probably be back on the road soon." She then let out a long yawn and stretched her arms.

"Long day," Mei said with a grin.

"You said it," Tracer replied, drowsily, before flopping down backside onto the grass next to Mei. She rested her hands behind her head and moved her legs to a more comfortable position.

Mei took another glance to the RV. Snowball found some entertainment in Dr. Ziegler and Genji, the latter watching the drone hover in peppy circles around his head while the former laughed at the sight. Her laugh caught Snowball's attention, and it began doing the same motion around her.

Tracer lifted her head up and chuckled, "Good to see someone's making friends."

_Friends._

She felt her smile drop.

Mei glanced down, "Snowball makes it look so easy."

Tracer paused at that statement. Slowly, she pulled herself off the grass and sat up, her eyes now locked on Mei.

"You doing alright, Mei?"

"Huh?" Mei caught herself, realizing the words that had spilled out, and quickly flashed a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Oh—It's nothing. I was thinking out loud and—Really, I'm okay."

"I get it, meeting new people and all. But I promise, you've got nothing to worry about," said Tracer. She gestured towards the pair sitting at the RV with Snowball, "Genji might seem all aloof and mysterious, but he's a real softie once you get to know him."

"Oh, okay, that's good I guess…" Mei trailed off. She could feel a hard lump beginning to form in her throat.

"And Dr. Ziegler can be a bit prickly, but she cares a lot. I'm sure she'll like you, you two can probably talk about a lot of—"

"We've met before," Mei said. The lump began to grow. It hurt.

"You have? Well, that's perfect then! You got a starting point! I'll whip up a nice batch of tea when we get home and you two can catch up with each other," Tracer began again.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Mei said, though her voice was subdued and barely audible, due to her energy going to fighting down the painful lump.

Tracer continued on, clearly not hearing her, "I've got a good feeling Reinhardt already likes you. And that big guy is a teddy bear, you'll get along great!"

"Lena."

_Make it stop._

"Still can't believe Echo made it here! I thought she was long gone. I'm real happy to have her back, though! Oh, you'll love her, I swear!"

"Lena—"

Mei could feel her eyes beginning to sting.

_Please._

"And this is only the beginning!" Tracer's voice rose in excitement, "I bet there are even more people on their way to answer the recall as we speak! If what Echo said was true, then that could mean McCree is coming! Ooh, I bet Captain Sojourn got it! It would be great to have her here. And Torbjörn! I mean, he _said_ he was retiring last time I saw him, but if Reinhardt can—,"

"LENA!"

With that shout, the lump in Mei's throat burst, causing a sob to follow it. Mei immediately slammed her gloved hand over her mouth, trying desperately to muffle the sounds. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt her face heat up. Hot tears formed and began to trickle down her cheeks.

She didn't see Tracer's reaction to her outburst, but judging by the silence that followed, the message got across. The fear that she might've hurt her friend's feelings quickly overcame Mei, and she shook her head fiercely.

"I'm sorry," Mei choked out, her voice still blocked by her hand. "I'm sorry for yelling."

"Oh, no, Mei—" Tracer's voice was soft, full of regret. "No, no, no! _I'm_ sorry. I didn't mean to overwhelm you, I got too excited. It's just been so long since…"

Tracer trailed off before going quiet again.

Mei used the silence to let out more sobs. She moved her hand away from her mouth and used her arms to hug her legs closer to her chest. She felt her journal fall out of her grip and heard it hit the ground, but she couldn't find the energy to grab it. Mei bowed her head, letting her forehead rest on her knees, hoping this position could easily hide her away from the world.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Listen Mei," Tracer gently whispered, "I'm not going to force you to be buddy-buddy with everyone. You can meet and get to know everyone at your own pace. I just didn't want you to feel left out."

Mei spoke up, her voice quivering, "It—It's not that, Lena."

"Then what's wrong? You can tell me."

Mei sighed. She sat up, shifting her glasses upwards so that she could wipe at her leaking eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Take your time, love."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Mei finally turned back to Tracer with red, puffy eyes. "I thought I would be ready for this. Ready to be a part of a new team. It was easier to feel that way when it was only the three of us, but now we have so many more people and…"

She stopped again, her left hand moving almost instinctively to grip the part of her shoulder that had been injured during the fight in Paris. Dr. Ziegler's technology, nanobiotics she called it, had completely healed the wounds from the explosion. She checked the area during an earlier bathroom break of the trip and had been amazed to find not a single trace of damage. No scars, no faded cuts, no bruises, no dried up blood, nothing. And yet, it was almost like she could still feel that blast, the scorching feeling against her skin, and the impact of being thrown against the ground.

"Winston almost died today."

Tracer shifted uncomfortably at that, the memory seemed to settle back in her as well.

"That...was pretty scary," said Tracer. She quickly tried to lighten her tone and smile, "But it's okay! Genji got there right in time! Everything turned out okay!"

Mei replied, the tears in her eyes running faster, "If he hadn't though, Winston would have—one second too late and he would be gone. And there wouldn't have been anything I could do about it. Because I got myself hurt so bad that I could barely walk. My friend would be gone, and I could have only stood there helplessly and let it happen!"

Her lower lip trembled.

"Again," Mei croaked out. Her grip on her shoulder only tightened.

Realization crossed Tracer's expression.

"Oh Mei…I didn't think about—"

"I have this little voice in the back of my head. One that keeps telling me that I shouldn't try to get close with the others. I need to keep our relationships professional. Otherwise, I'm only setting myself up to get hurt again. But then that same voice tells me, 'You're a coward, Mei-Ling. You're a coward who won't give other people a chance because you're too scared of losing them.' And maybe I am. Maybe I am! But I—"

Mei suddenly felt herself being pulled—or more accurately yanked—into a hug by Tracer. The younger woman wrapped her arms securely around Mei's shoulder and clenched the back of her parka.

"You need to tell that voice to back off," Tracer said, her voice was now also on the brink of cracking, "because you, Mei-Ling Zhou, are the farthest thing from a coward. You're a hero. A _real_ hero."

Mei sniffled, shaking her head, "I'm just a scientist."

"So's Winston," Tracer softly laughed then continued, "but you both are doing all that you can. Mei, you saved lives today. You took a hit protecting those civilians. And without you, we never would've beaten that Titan!"

"You did most of the work," Mei said.

"No, I didn't," Tracer firmly retorted. "I may have finished the job, but you were the one who set up the pieces we needed. Reinhardt and Brigitte gave us time. Genji jumped in at the perfect moment. We worked together. Like a team should. And we won."

Mei didn't respond. She merely leaned into Tracer's hug, resting her head on her shoulder. A new wave of soft sobs released.

Tracer's grip loosened, but she still kept Mei close. She moved one hand to gently stroke Mei's back.

"Poor dear. I know can't understand everything you're going through," said Tracer. "But believe me, I get what it's like to have your whole world ripped away from you. One minute, you're living another day in your life, the next, you can barely recognize it. After my accident, I didn't think I could ever feel normal again. But with time, slowly, I got a _new_ normal. And well...I think that's it. Time. That's what it'll take."

Mei slowly pulled away from Tracer, wiping at her still wet eyes as she said, "Do you mean that?"

"It's hard. Really hard. And it hurts like hell. But every day, little by little, it gets easier."

She turned her gaze towards the warmly lit RV once more, Mei followed her gaze and stared as well. Snowball continued cheerfully playing with Dr. Ziegler and Genji. Brigitte slammed the hood of the RV's front down, satisfyingly dusting off her hands after, as Reinhardt let out a hearty laugh and clicked off the flashlight. Back on the roof, Winston grinned as an approaching Echo was in sight, waving to him as she descended.

"And trust me when I say," Tracer said, "it gets even easier when you're not doing it alone."

Mei turned away. Her hand came to her shoulder one final time. The memories of Paris tried to creep back into her thoughts, but slowly and steadily faded with every breath she took. The scientist took in another breath. She wiped away the last of her tears, slid her glasses back down, and gave a small nod.

"Okay," Mei said, barely above a whisper.

Tracer looked back to her, a smile on her face, "Okay?"

Mei nodded again, moving her head up to meet Tracer's look. She returned her teammate's—no—her friend's comforting smile.

"Okay."

"Lena! Mei!"

Reinhardt's booming voice echoed across the plain. The two looked over. The large man was standing in front of the RV, waving his hands above his head. Brigitte was climbing into the driver's side. The others had already begun to pile back into the interior of the vehicle.

"The motor is fixed! We are back on schedule, time to hit the road!" He said.

Tracer cupped her hands around her mouth and called back, "We're coming!"

Reinhardt gave a thumbs up before heading to the passenger side. Tracer stood up from the grass, rolling her shoulders back as she did. Mei stood, grabbing her journal from off the ground and holding it close to her. The duo exchanged one last smile between each other then began making their way over.

Tracer stepped into the light of the RV first, blinking over to squeeze into an empty spot right in-between Winston and Echo. Mei entered last, closing the door after her. When she looked ahead into the tiny space they would be occupying for another few long hours, the first thing she saw was Snowball. The little drone whirred with excitement, hovering over to meet her.

"M-e-e-e-i-i-i!"

She giggled, reaching her gloved hands to shower Snowball in yet another wave of pets on its head.

"Dr. Zhou?"

Genji's calm voice alerted Mei. She tilted her head past Snowball to see Genji and Dr. Ziegler seated on one of RV's built-in benches.

"Oh um," Mei said, "just 'Mei' is fine."

"Mei, very well," said Genji. He pointed towards Snowball, "Quite an energetic friend you've got there."

Dr. Ziegler added, "You know, I don't remember ever seeing a model like that for a drone. And such a lively personality too!"

Mei replied, "Well, um...Snowball is a unique model. Specifically designed for isolated fieldwork."

The doctor's eyes widened, "Really? Fascinating."

"We were hoping you could tell us more, if that is okay with you," Genji said. He gestured his hand towards an empty seat on the bench next to him.

"Oh, uh, I..." Mei started. She searched for words, before shifting a glance to Tracer.

Her friend gave her an encouraging smile and silently mouthed, _'You got this.'_

Mei turned back, a beaming smile growing on her face.

"I'd be happy to."

She stepped forward and happily accepted the invitation. As she sat down, she could feel the vibrations of the RV starting up under her boots. The subdued humming of the electric motor filled the background.

Brigitte glanced over her shoulder from the driver's seat, "Everyone ready?"

"All set!" Tracer exclaimed from the very back.

Brigitte nodded and faced the road. The RV began to move, the plain they'd been resting at disappearing into the darkness of the night behind them.

Snowball flew its way back over to Mei, snuggling into a comfortable spot on her lap, as she began a detailed, lengthy description of the little drone. Genji listened closely, Dr. Ziegler popping in every now and then with a follow-up question. Every so often, Mei would flip open to a page of her journal to show them sketches she did of Snowball.

The conversation went on, veering off into a wide array of other topics. For Mei, the drive that had been agonizing was moving along swiftly, and eventually, the others joined in.

They all talked on and on for hours, until the light of sunrise peeking over the Rock of Gibraltar was in the distance. By that point, nearly everyone had fallen asleep. Save for Brigitte, still driving, and save for Mei.

Mei leaned forward to see the morning light through the windshield. It felt warm and comforting on her face.

A new dawn for her new team.


End file.
